Despite being a relatively young city, Łódź can boast a fascinating and complex history. Today’s population of the city is for the most part Polish, but until the outbreak of the World War I Poles constituted only about 55% of its population, the remaining 45% were Jews, Germans and Russians. Thanks to their joint effort a humble settlement turned into a prosperous city bustling with life. Even though Łódź is not a melting pot anymore its residents celebrate the past by holding Łódź Festival of Four Cultures. This is a multidisciplinary art festival including music concerts, theatre plays, visual arts exhibitions, street performances and many others. The name is a bit deceptive because the organizers don’t limit themselves to the four main cultures that used to coexist in the city. Representatives of ethnical minorities such as Roma People are always included in the line-up.
“For several years, Łódź has been going back to its multicultural roots. The idea of Łódź Festival of Four Cultures was born out of respect for the past. Mixing traces of Polish, Jewish, German and Russian influence can be seen in Łódź at every step, present in the tissue of the city, in the mentality of the people, and the history - although it seems a long time ago minion - becomes again the beginning of talking about the present and the future of the city.”
Joanna Podolska Łódź Festival of Four Cultures website
Each edition has its theme. For instance in 2013 it was “Generations” as the intention of the organizers was to bridge the generation gap between artists and art lovers and find common ground for collaboration.
Not only do the organizers go out of their way to make the event a memorable artistic experience but also find its social impact equally important. Events are expected to lead to an agreement over boundaries and barriers. For example in 2014 thanks to the collaboration with Therapy and Theatre Festival viewers had the opportunity to see the extent to which person’s disability affects his perception.
The festival is always accompanied by a series of debates with prominent people from atrs and science
The event usually takes place at two weekends in May or June so if you’re in Łódź in late spring be sure to come across some street art that will surely make you stray from your planned rout
The admission to all the events is free.
For details go to the Festival website.
